Package compressor for tying machines



June 25, 1946.

A; G. SUELFLOW PACKAGE COMPRESSOR FOR 'I'YING MACHINES Filed Nov. 26,1945 4 Sheets$heet l INVENTOR ALFRED G.SUELFLOW AT TORNEYS 1 'June 25,1946. A. G. SUELFLOW PACKAGE COMPRESSOR FOR TYING MACHINES 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 26, 1943 M as r20 asuaLnow I flfi/ Y INVENTOR&

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ATTORNEYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A. G. SUELFLOW PACKAGE COMPRESSOR FOR TYINGMACHINES File d Nov. 26, 1945 June z s, 1946.

iNVENTOR ATTORNEYS ALFRED G-SUELFLOW 4 -BY%% I June 25, 1946.

A. G. SUELFLOW PACKAGE COMPRESSOR FOR TYING MAGHINE$ Filed Nov. 26, 19434 Sheets-Sheet 4 as] a lNVENTOR ALFRED G.SUELFLOW AT TORNEYS PatentedJune 25, 1946 S PATENT OFF ICIE.

PACKAGE oo vrrnnsson FOR TYING l MACHINES Alf-red G. Suelflow,Milwaukee, Wis.; G. I. Hansen, executor of said Alfred G. Suelflow,deceased, a'ssignor to Felins TyingMachine Company, Milwaukee, consinWis a corporation of Wis- Application November 26, 194:?{Siial No. "511fl77 V c was. (01. 100-31) This invention appertains to tying machinesand more particularly to a novel attachment for such machines forholding and compressing'packags and bundles during the tying operation.

Intying packages or bundles of goods,- such as post office mail, gloves,stockings,etc., it is highly desirable that the bundles or packagesbecompressed and held just prior to and during the tying operation, sothat not only will a tight tie .be formed, but whereby the package orbundle wlllbe compressed into a desired compact size.

It is therefore, one of the primary'objects of my invention to providemeans associated with the tying machine embodying a stationary jaw onthe table on one side of the tying mechanism and a movable compressingjaw on the other side of the'tying mechanism adapted to swing over thetable toward the stationary jaw, whereby to efiectively compress andhold a package or bundle between the same on the table to permit theeffective tying of a tight, compact bundle.

Another salient objector my invention is to provide-novel means forope-rating the swinging jaw overthe table, whereby the desired pressurewill be obtained with a minimum amount of exertion on the part of theoperator;

*kiurther' object of my inventionis to provide automatic means forsetting-the tying mechanism into operation for tying the bundle orpackage from the compressor after the actuation of the compressor by theoperator for compressing the bundle or package.

A further important object of my invention is to provide novel means formounting the stationary jaw on the table of the tying machine, wherebythe same can be initially adjusted toward and away from the tyingmechanism, so that different sizes of packages and bundles can beeffectively handled.

A still further important object of my invention is to provide a novelcompressorattachment for tying machine which will be durable andefficient in use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture andone which can be incorporated with the tying machine at a small cost andwith a minimum amount of change in the tying ma.- chine.

, With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will behereinafter more specifically described, claimed and illustrated vin theaccompanying drawings, in which drawings:

Figure l is a. side, elevational view of the tying machine showing mynovel compressor incorporated therewith, the movable jaw being shown infull lines in its inoperative position, and in dotted lines in itsoperative position, parts of the view being shown broken away and insection.

Figure 2 is a front, elevational view of the tying machine with my novelcompressor incorporated therewith, the operating foot treadle being.shown in full lines in' its inoperative position and in dotted lines inits operative compressing position.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, top, plan view of the table of the tyingmachine showing the compressor applied thereto, parts of the table beingbroken away to illustrate structural detail.

Figure 4 is a horizontal, sectional view taken substantially on the line4-4 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustratingthe foot treadle mechanism.

Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail, vertical, sectional viewtaken substantially on the line 55 of Figure 3, looking in the directionor the arrows, illustrating the novel means employed for operating theclutch for setting the tying machine into operation.

Figure 6 is an enlarged, detail, vertical, sectional view through thetable of the tying machine taken on the line 6-43 of Figure 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows, illustrating the stationary jaw of thecompressor.

Figure '7 is a detail, sectional view through the stationary jaw andtable taken on the line 1-! of Figure 6, looking in the direction of thearrows.

Referrin to the drawings in detail, the letter A generally indicates mynovel compressing attachment for the tying machine M.

The tying machine M is of the type shown and described in the pendingapplication of Frank Radeck, Serial No. 409,676, filed September 5,1941, which has issued as Patent No. 2,346,786, dated April 18, 1944.Hence, the tying machine will not be described in detail and onlysufficient parts have been shown to enable the understanding of mycompressor attachment A.

However, the tying machine M includes a supporting base frame I!) andthis base frame can include corner uprights or standards ll formed fromangle iron or any other desired material. These legs or standards II canbe connected together by longitudinal rails l2 and channel transverserails l3. Mounted upon the upper ends of the legs or standards is a mainbase plate 14 on which various operating parts of the tying machine aremounted. Disposed above the base plate I4 is a table l5 on which thepackages or bundles to be tied are placed. Brackets I6 can be employedfor connecting the table to the base late. p Mounted upon the base plateI4 is the electric drive motor I! and the armature shaft of this motoris connected through a worm l8 and pinion I9 to the'rotatable clutchsection 20 rotatably mounted on the main shaft 2| of the tying machine.

is normally urged into operative engagement with the clutch section 20by a spring 23. When the clutch section 22 is in operative drivingconnection with the clutch section 20, the shaft 2| is driven foroperating the various partsof themaa. i

chine.

. Normally holding the clutch section 22 out of operative engagementwith the clutch section 20; is a pivoted trip lever 24. The outer end ofthe trip lever has formed thereon an inclined cam track 25 and a pin 26extending radially from the clutch section 22 is. adapted to engage saidcam track at certain times. The trip lever 24 is rockably mountedintermediate its ends upon a stub shaft 21 and the trip lever isnormally held in a lowered position with the cam track 25 in the path ofthe pin 26 by a leaf spring 28.

When the trip lever 24 is normally raised above the pin 26, the spring23 moves the clutch section 22 into engagement with the clutch section20 on the operating shaft 2|. Upon the lowering of the trip lever 24 byits spring 28, the cam track end 25 thereof will rest upon the hub ofthe clutch section 22 and the pin 26 will ride into engagement with saidcam track as the shaft 2| completes one revolution and as the shaftreaches the end of one complete revolution, the pin 26 riding on the camtrack 25 will move the clutch section 22 out of engagement with theclutch section 20 and the shaft 2| will be brought to a standstill. Thetrip lever 24 is operated in a novel manner from my compressorattachment A and this will be later described.

The shaft 2| operates a needle mechanism 29, the knotter mechanism 30,the string holding mechanism 3|, the cord tucker mechanism 32 and thestring severing and bundle kicking mechanism 33. r

My attachment A operates in conjunction with the main drive shaft 2| andthe other parts of the tying machine function identically in the samemanner as in the Radeck patent referred to above and hence said tyingmachine will not bedescribed in further detail.

The attachment A comprises a rigid jaw or compressor plate 35 which ismounted transversely of the table l on one side of the knottingmechanism 30. This rigid jaw 35 is firmly secured to a strip 33 whichextends entirely across the table and the ends of the strip hook overthe edges of the table so that the strip can be moved toward and awayfrom the knotting mechanism. Thi permits initial adjustment of therigidjaw relative to said knotting mechanism and a set screw 31 can beemployed forholding this rigid jaw in its preferred adjusted position.

Cooperating with the rigid jaw 35 is a swinging compressor jaw member38. The jaw member 38 may include a pair of companion swinging arms 39and these arms have rigidly attached thereto the compressor jaw faces 40and the jaw faces and the upper ends of the arms are adapted to swingthrough slots 4| formed in the table I5 v for that purpose.

Feathered upon the main drive shaft 2|. is the clutchsection 22 and theclutch section.

winging arms 39-are operatively connected to the Hence the swinging jawp, is movabletoward and away from the rigid jaw 35;and swings toward andaway from the'knotting mech-' 4 anism. The swinging arms 39 are mountedintermediate their ends upon a pivot pin 42 and this pivot pin iscarried by a bracket 43 mounted upon the base frame ID of the tyingmachine.

5 Also mounted for swinging movement upon the base frame of the tyingmachine is an operating lever 44 and the lever is mounted upon a pivotpin 45 carried by a bracket suspended from said base frame. The lowerinner ends of the -'----lever 44 by means of a link 46. Hence, uponmovement of the lever 44, the swinging arms 39 will be actuated, Atreadle mechanism 41 is provided for actuating the lever and thistreadle mechanism can include a pairof. spaced parallel treadle arms 48,the outer ends of which are connected together by a treadle bar .49. Theinner ends of the treadle arms 48 are pivotally connected, as at 50, tothe base frame Ill. The treadle member is normally held in an elevatedposition byv contractile coil springs 5|, the opposite ends of which areconnected respectively to the treadle arms 48 and the base frame. Byreferring to Figures 1 and 2, it will be noted that the compressor arms39 are normally held in their lowered inoperative position by acontractile coil spring 52, the opposite ends of which are connectedrespectively to one compressor arm 39 and to the base frame of the tyingmachine. A stop 53 is arranged in the path of the treadle mechanism tolimit the upward swinging movement thereof under the influence of thesprings 5|. The operating lever 44 is operatively connected to thetreadle 47 in any pre- 5 ferred manner, such as through the medium of arelatively stiff sprocket chain 54.

From the description so far, it can be seen that when an operator placeshis foot on the treadle bar 49 and pushes down on said treadle bar, the

40 jaws 40 will be forcibly swung toward the rigid jaw and that a bundleor package placed upon the tying machine table l5 will be compressedbetween the jaws and the rigid jaw 35.

It is one of the important features of my invention to compressthe-bundle or package just prior to the operating of the tying machineand to hold the bundle or package in place during the tying operationand I have provided means for automatically setting the tying machineinto 50 operation when the treadle 41 reaches approximately the end ofits lowered position.

The means for automatically setting the tying machine into operationincludes a vertically sliding rod and this rod can be mounted in suit-55 able bearings carried by the base plate M of the base frame of thetying machine. Thelower end of the rod 55 is operatively connected tothe inner end of a foot pedal 56 and this foot pedal is rockably mountedintermediate its end on across 0 shaft 51 carried by the base frame. Theforward end of the'foot pedal can have formed thereon or secured theretoa foot plate 58. Hence it can be seen that when the foot plate 58 isdepressed, the rod 55- will be forced upwardly. This rod extends upthrough the base plate I 4 in front of the drive shaft 2| and the triparm 24. Depending from the upper end of the rod 55 is a pivoted dog 59and the lower end of the dog is provided with a tooth 60 which isadapted to catch and raise the outer end of the trip arm 24. The upperend of the pivoted dog is connected to the upper end of the rod 55 andit is to be noted that the tooth 60 projects laterally beyond the pivotpoint of said dog. Consequently, upon upward movementof the rod 55, thedog 59 will raise the trip arm 24 above the pin 26 on the movable clutchsection22 and the clutch section will move inwardly into engagement withthe driven clutch section 20 and the drive shaft 2| will be operatedfrom the motor. When the dog 59 has been raised to a certain point, theouter end of the trip arm 24 will ride toward the free end of the tooth60 which will swing the tooth and the dog on the pivot pin 6| out of thepath of the trip arm allowing the trip arm to move back against the hubof themovable clutch section 22 under influence of the spring 28. Thiswill again place the cam end of the trip arm 24 in the path of the pin26 so that as the shaft completes one revolution, the pin will rideagainst said cam end and move the clutch section 22 from out of drivingengagement with the drive clutch section 26, which will stop theoperation of the machine. Upon the return of the rod 55 to its normalposition, the tapered lower end of the dog will engage the cam arm 24and the dog will be momentarily swung back so that the dog can againride under the outer end of the cam arm 24. The rod 55 tends to returnto its normal lowered position by its own weight, but obviously, aspring can be utilized to aid in this return, if such should be desired.

When the treadle 41 reaches approximately the end of its loweredposition, a cross bar 62 carried by the treadlewill strike the footplate 58 and depress the same to elevate the rod 55 and start the tyingmachine into operation. A set screw63 is preferably carried by the crossbar for engaging the treadle plate so that desired adjustments as tostroke of the treadle 41 and the pedal 55 can be made.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided anexceptionally simple and durable compressor attachment for bundle tyingmachines which can be, added to such machines at a small cost and whichwill automatically start the machine in operation.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or thescope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. In a'package and bundle tying machine, a table for receiving packagesand bundles to be tied, a tying mechanism, means for compressingpackages and bundles on said table prior to the tying operatingincluding a stationary jaw on the table and a movable jaw mounted forswing- .ing movement toward and away from the stationary jaw over saidtab-1e, means for operating the movable jaw, and automatic means forsetting the tying mechanism into operation from the operating mechanismfor the movable jaw when said operating mechanism reaches approximatelythe end of its compressing stroke.

2. In a package and bundle tying machine, a supporting table forpackages and bundles to be tied, a tying mechanism, a main drive shaft,means for operating the tying mechanism from the drive shaft, a motorfor operating said shaft for throwing the tying mechanism into and outof operation, a clutch between said motor and shaft including aconstantly driven clutch section rotatably mounted on the shaft and amovable clutch section feathered on said shaft, a device for compressingpackages and bundles on the table including a stationary and a movablejaw, means for operating the movable jaw, and means for actuating themovable clutch section from said movable jaw operating means.

8. In a package and bundle tying machine, a

supporting table for packages and bundles to be tied, a tying mechanism,a main operating shaft, means for operating the tying mechanism from theshaft, a constantly operating motor, a clutch for operatively connectingthe shaft with the motor including a movable clutch section, springmeans normally urging the movable clutch section into driving position,a radially extending pin carried by the movable clutch section, a camnormally disposed in the path of the pin causing the pin to draw themovable clutch section out of driving position, a device for compressingpackages and bundles on the table including a stationary jaw and a,movable jaw, means for operating the movable jaw including a foottreadle, a slide rod, means for actuating the slide rod from the foottreadle as the foot treadle reaches the end of its stroke, and means formomentarily moving the cam out of the path of said pin upon upwardsliding movement of said rod.

l. In a package and bundle tying machine, a supporting table forpackages and bundles to be tied, a tying mechanism, a main operatingshaft, means for operating the tying mechanism from said shaft, aconstantly operating motor, a clutch for operatively connecting theshaft with the motor including a movable clutch section, spring meansnormally urging the movable clutch section into driving position, aradially extending pin carried by the movable clutch section, a camnormally disposed in the path of the pin causing the pin to draw themovable-clutch section out of driving position, a device for compressingpackages and bundles on the table including a stationary jaw and amovable jaw, means for operating the movable jaw including a foottreadle, a slide rod, means for actuating the slide rod from the foottreadle as the foot treadle reaches the end of its stroke, and means formomentarily moving the cam out of the path of said pin upon upwardsliding movement of said rod including a pivoted dog carried by theupper end of said rod having a tooth for engaging said cam projectinglaterally beyond the pivot point of said dog.

5. In a machine for tying packages and bundles, a table for receivingpackages and bundles to be tied, means for compressing and holdingpackages and bundles on the table including a stationary jaw and aswinging jaw movable toward and away from the stationary jaw, a pivotedfoot treadle, a swinging operating lever, means operatively connectingthe swinging jaw to the lever and means operatively connecting the foottreadle to the operating lever, a driving mechanism for the tyingmachine including a clutch and means disposed in the path of the treadlefor operating the clutch.

6. In a machine for tying packages and bundles, a table for receivingpackages and bundles to be tied, means for compressing and holding thepackages and bundles on the table including a stationary jaw and aswinging jaw movable toward and away from the stationary jaw, a pivotedfoot treadle, a swinging operating lever, means operatively connectingthe swinging jaw to the lever and means operatively connecting the foottreadle to the operating lever, a driving mechanism for the tyingmachine including a clutch and means disposed in the path of the treadlefor operating the clutch, said means including a foot pedal and anadjustable member on the foot treadle for engaging the foot pedal.

ALFRED G. SUELFLOW.

